Gov. Tina Kotek on Thursday proposed $40 million in state funding to continue shipping container service at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6, an announcement which the port said will avoid a planned end to container operations on Oct. 1.
The proposed funding is part of an effort to keep the terminal open for the long term.
In April, the port said it would end container service after an effort to lease the terminal to a third-party fell through. The port on Thursday said the proposed funding means container service will continue.
The port’s container business lost $13 million in each of the last two years and the port expected much the same next year, Curtis Robinhold, the port’s executive director, previously said.
Kotek’s proposal includes $35 million from her 2025-2027 proposed budget and $5 million in funding that will be requested at the September meeting of the state Legislature’s Emergency Board. Both would need lawmakers’ approval.
“After the Port of Portland’s April announcement that container service would end this October, I heard from scores of producers throughout Oregon that relied on Terminal 6 to ship their goods,” Kotek said in a press release. “Having represented the Port’s home district in the Oregon Legislature for many years, I understand that the terminal’s location makes container operations at Terminal 6 economically challenging.”
In addition to the proposed funding, Kotek sent Robinhold a letter in which she asked port officials to figure out a way to make the terminal “sustainable for the long-term.” She expects a report to that effect by Aug. 23.
“We’re grateful for Governor Kotek’s declaration of support, and her commitment to maintaining this important piece of our economy,” Robinhold said in the governor’s press release. “We are also extremely grateful for the strong backing from a bipartisan group of legislators who recognize the value of trade to businesses and communities throughout our state.”
The container business directly creates 696 jobs, port officials previously said. Another estimated 870 indirect positions – truckers, shippers and freight forwarders and brokers – also rely on the local container business.
The proposal has the support of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents workers who load and unload containers at the terminal.
”Since the Port of Portland reopened container service at T6 in 2018, we have enjoyed an era of strong collaboration and partnership with the port – collaboration and productivity we look forward to continuing through the state’s investment,” said ILWU Local 8 President Troy Mosteller, in a press release.
– Matthew Kish covers business, including the sportswear and banking industries. Reach him at 503-221-4386, mkish@oregonian.com or @matthewkish.
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